Going to try to make Chef John's Irish Pork Stew. If anyone is looking for a chef to check out I highly recommend this dude. I've made his "Beginner Turkey" three times now. His Scottish Eggs turned out amazing as well.

Last week bought a 3 lb. package of ground beef and another smaller 1.25 lb. package of meatball mix which is veal, ground beef and pork. Mixed it all up with eggs, onions, spices, Lipton dehydrated soup mix, two envelopes and mixed it all up. Divided it so I had one big meat loaf and added cream of mushroom soup, half can, to the meat and the other half on top. I also had fresh mushrooms I added to the beef. Then with the remainder of the beef mixture I made about 30 meatballs. Baked all of it in the oven and cooled. The meatballs were frozen. We ate on the meatloaf then sliced it up and froze the rest for dinners another time. Lots of food for not much work!

We have leftover wine sauce with beef tips, and will serve over pasta, as we're almost out of rice. In fact, we only have enough wine sauce for two. So, my husband & 12 year old will eat that. My 11 year old will eat pasta & meatballs. I'll have an egg bagel.

I made some beef cube steaks and they were yummy! Box of Cheese Broccoli Rice a Roni , a nice big salad loaded with veggies and we also ate up the left over "Turkey Dinner in a pan" from the night before.

Made a batch of about 30 breaded Peppercorn Chicken Tenderloins. Kids love em and simple to make if you just by a bottle of peppercorn ranch put in one bowl and Panko bread crumbs in another. Roll in the ranch and then the Panko and put in oven on a rack in shallow pan for 30-40 minutes. Broil last 2-5 and yum!Also made a Peppercorn Ranch Colored Rotini Pasta salad with Broccoli, Green Pepper, Black Olives, Salami, Green Onions, Tomatoes and chunks of Cubed colby.Made a mixed veggie and made 2 things of Knorrs Fettucini Broccoli pasta. With almost all the kids home 99% all gone and in addition to that I made a 10 egg batch of Egg Salad and thats gone too.

I like the homemade chicken tenders idea. May be a good fit for this weekend.

For us, we had beef tacos last night (pre-made ground beef with taco seasoning from the freezer) & tonight will be leftovers from our turkey/stuffing/baked potato night. After that, the fridge will be empty & I'll need to figure out the menu for the week ahead.

Thanks for the kid friendly idea, @soccerluvof4 ! My niece and nephew would definitely eat those ranch chicken tenderloins. I'll have to remember that for their next visit.

Yea simply just roll them in the Peppercorn ranch dressing and then in Panko bread crumbs. I do sprinkle just a little paprkia on them (guess you could mix in with the Panko bread crumbs) and flip them over after 15 mins. They were gone in a snap.

I usually cook a few days a week, and we eat leftovers the remaining days. It works for the age & appetite of everyone in our family, but we do sometimes run out of food earlier than expected. That's when freezer options make life so easy

I usually cook a few days a week, and we eat leftovers the remaining days. It works for the age & appetite of everyone in our family, but we do sometimes run out of food earlier than expected. That's when freezer options make life so easy

Do you do cyclical freezer bulk ups? Like intentional freezer cooking, or just excess freezing?

I Made a Beef roast in the slow Cooker. Mashed Potatoes and a Mixed Veggie and Also made a huge thing of Macaroni Pasta Salad since the pasta salad I made the day before is gone. Its easy to tell my Eldest Son is home from College.

@rdaneel0 - a bit of both? We always have a few ready to eat meals in the freezer. For example, meatballs (purchased, not made). I have a reasonably picky 11 year old, so meatballs often sub in for the protein the rest of us are eating. We freeze leftovers, for some recipes I intentionally plan double batches, etc. Right now i'm actually in a phase of trying to eat down our freezer items, mostly because we had so much in there that it was like a game of Jenga to get anything out. Once it's reasonably empty again, I'll focus on building it back up.

For tonight, I think I'll make homemade pizzas with pepperoni. We're heading out of town next Friday, so the great fridge/freezer clean out must begin.

@rdaneel0 - a bit of both? We always have a few ready to eat meals in the freezer. For example, meatballs (purchased, not made). I have a reasonably picky 11 year old, so meatballs often sub in for the protein the rest of us are eating. We freeze leftovers, for some recipes I intentionally plan double batches, etc. Right now i'm actually in a phase of trying to eat down our freezer items, mostly because we had so much in there that it was like a game of Jenga to get anything out. Once it's reasonably empty again, I'll focus on building it back up.

For tonight, I think I'll make homemade pizzas with pepperoni. We're heading out of town next Friday, so the great fridge/freezer clean out must begin.

I buy the frozen meatballs at Aldis, throw in a jar of pasta sauce, some provolone cheese on slightly better than your generic hot dog bun and my kids wolf them down as meatball subs.

For tonight I made a double batch of Green Apple and Tuna Casserole with red grapes, walnuts, peas , large shell pasta and low fat mayonnaise which will go quick. Some Italian Sausages and Baked beans.

Having a sausage sheet pan dinner. Shopped today and bought Brussel sprouts, parsnips, carrots, sliced onions, sliced peppers, mushrooms. I will coat them with olive oil, put on salt, pepper and rosemary. Bake in oven. Have not made this before so I hope it turns out good! I also bought some frozen turnip chunks. Not sure if I will put them in or not. At this rate, I am going to have two pans worth!

Having a sausage sheet pan dinner. Shopped today and bought Brussel sprouts, parsnips, carrots, sliced onions, sliced peppers, mushrooms. I will coat them with olive oil, put on salt, pepper and rosemary. Bake in oven. Have not made this before so I hope it turns out good! I also bought some frozen turnip chunks. Not sure if I will put them in or not. At this rate, I am going to have two pans worth!

Having a sausage sheet pan dinner. Shopped today and bought Brussel sprouts, parsnips, carrots, sliced onions, sliced peppers, mushrooms. I will coat them with olive oil, put on salt, pepper and rosemary. Bake in oven. Have not made this before so I hope it turns out good! I also bought some frozen turnip chunks. Not sure if I will put them in or not. At this rate, I am going to have two pans worth!

Did not use the turnips. OMGGGGG, I ended up with two giant sheet pans worth and they are cooking now! Smells great! The Hub cut up lots of garlic too and I coated it all with olive oil and sprinkled with some sea salt. We will have tons of leftovers and we love that!The sausage is a hot Italian one and is so delish!

I have a package of chorizo and a lot of kale to use up, so we're having Portuguese kale soup for dinner.

I'd better get it started so I'll still have time to make a fruitcake tonight (don't judge, my family likes it and we don't try to give it as gifts to the unsuspecting).

My Mom made the best fruit cake and drenched it with apricot brandy. OMG, it was so good. However, one piece was really all I wanted and it was probably an 8 lb. cake! She did a wonderful job on it and I am sad I couldn't appreciate it more. Hope yours turns out great!

I have a package of chorizo and a lot of kale to use up, so we're having Portuguese kale soup for dinner.

I'd better get it started so I'll still have time to make a fruitcake tonight (don't judge, my family likes it and we don't try to give it as gifts to the unsuspecting).

My Mom made the best fruit cake and drenched it with apricot brandy. OMG, it was so good. However, one piece was really all I wanted and it was probably an 8 lb. cake! She did a wonderful job on it and I am sad I couldn't appreciate it more. Hope yours turns out great!

I love real fruitcake! I keep thinking I should make some, but I keep getting sidetracked. Maybe tomorrow? I have a recipe around that looked good, if I can find it again. Is there one you particularly like?

Asked DS2 what to make for dinner, so we're having NWEdible's' beef and cabbage in red curry sauce with rice. Fast'n'easy with what's in the house -- there's nothing not to like!

I have a package of chorizo and a lot of kale to use up, so we're having Portuguese kale soup for dinner.

I'd better get it started so I'll still have time to make a fruitcake tonight (don't judge, my family likes it and we don't try to give it as gifts to the unsuspecting).

My Mom made the best fruit cake and drenched it with apricot brandy. OMG, it was so good. However, one piece was really all I wanted and it was probably an 8 lb. cake! She did a wonderful job on it and I am sad I couldn't appreciate it more. Hope yours turns out great!

I love real fruitcake! I keep thinking I should make some, but I keep getting sidetracked. Maybe tomorrow? I have a recipe around that looked good, if I can find it again. Is there one you particularly like?

Asked DS2 what to make for dinner, so we're having NWEdible's' beef and cabbage in red curry sauce with rice. Fast'n'easy with what's in the house -- there's nothing not to like!

Chiming in to agree that real fruitcake is worlds away from the store-bought bricks. My dad loves fruitcake, and we always used to buy him one, until the year I got really into baking and decided to try it out myself. These days we make it with homemade rumtopf cherries and plums, plus dried raisins, cranberries, and apricots, and soaked in brandy. Fantastic!

I make a bread that has candied fruit in it. It's sort of a blend between a yeast based bread & a fruit cake, which allows you to enjoy some of the flavors of a fruit cake, but on a much lighter note. It's been a family tradition for decades, and I picked up the torch when my grandmother passed away. We toast it on Christmas morning & serve it with butter. YUM!

Just made an Italian pasta salad. I just wing these. Took 16oz box rotini, one small jar of green olives, one can black olives (both halved) sliced Salami, cubed Pepper Jack and Cubed chedder , cut in half grape tomatoes , 3 chopped green onions and small head of Broccolie and 3/4 bottle of Zesty Italian Dressing. Stirred up and refrigerated and tastes yummy. Tonight is make your own burrito Night one of the kids favorites. Basically just cut everything up, make some rice, black beans, refried beans, 2bs of ground turkey with taco mix and and large flour Burritos. Plus of course all the sliced veggies etc...

Good for grey rainy days with a dry white wine, with just enough cayenne to make you sit up and take notice. I like to put tortilla chips in mine. Like all of the world's best recipes, it isn't terribly healthy. Damn you evolution, for teaching my body to crave fats and salts.

Good for grey rainy days with a dry white wine, with just enough cayenne to make you sit up and take notice. I like to put tortilla chips in mine. Like all of the world's best recipes, it isn't terribly healthy. Damn you evolution, for teaching my body to crave fats and salts.

Good for grey rainy days with a dry white wine, with just enough cayenne to make you sit up and take notice. I like to put tortilla chips in mine. Like all of the world's best recipes, it isn't terribly healthy. Damn you evolution, for teaching my body to crave fats and salts.

Leave out the cheese and sour cream and you have a perfectly respectable chicken and bean soup. I have no idea why anyone would ever leave out the cheese, though. Cheese is a food group, right?

My mom used to make this on Saturday nights in winter. It's so good. Thanks for the reminder to add it to my meal plan.

Last night, my son (21 and an amazing cook), made up his own recipe for a chicken stew that was awesome.

Tonight, I'm attempting red beans and rice for the first time (I've only ever had it once before). If anyone has a flavorful recipe to share (no pre-made sauce packet), I'd love one. I just did a taste test of the beans for this one, and it was way too bland. Probably the kind of hot sauce I used. So, I added cajun seasoning, but still doesn't have the nice bold flavor of the stuff I had before.